Sam and Clelia Henroid (Operator No. 2704544) Term Grazing Permit Renewal for the South Butte Allotment (00504) and the South Butte Seeding Allotment (00506)

The legal location of the South Butte Allotment is as follows:T. 20N., R. 61E., several sectionsT. 20N., R. 62E., portions of three sectionsT. 19N., R. 61E., several sectionsT. 19N., R. 62E., several sections

The legal location of the South Butte Seeding Allotment is as follows:T. 19N., R. 61E., portions of four sections

The South Butte Allotment and the South Butte Seeding Allotment encompasses approximately 26,081 public land acres and 968 public land acres, respectively. The grazing permit area occurs entirely within White Pine County, and is situated approximately 18 miles northwest of Ely, Nevada. The permit area occurs within the Butte Watershed (041). Most of the South Butte Allotment is within the Butte Wild Horse Herd Management Area. Both allotments are located within the Butte sage grouse population unit. The permitted area occurs within the Nevada Department of Wildlife hunting management areas #10 and #12. No wilderness occurs within the permitted area. The nearest wilderness is the Bristlecone Peak Wilderness, which is approximately two miles away is.

The purpose and need for the action is to fully process and renew the grazing term permit for Sam and Clelia Henroid for the South Butte Allotment and the South Butte Seeding Allotment. The current term permit is issued for the period 03/01/2008 to 02/28/2018. These are both cattle allotments with a total grazing preference of 508 Animal Unit Months (AUMs) for South Butte Allotment and 342 AUMs for the South Butte Seeding Allotment. For the South Butte Allotment, 396 AUMs are active and 112 AUMs are suspended nonuse, with the current term permit authorizing approximately 37 head of cattle with a season of use from 04/15 to 02/28. For the South Butte Seeding Allotment, 245 AUMs are active and 97 AUMs are suspended nonuse, with the current term permit authorizing approximately 40 head of cattle with a season of use from 05/01 to 10/31. The issuance of the new term grazing permit could be for a period up to ten years. An evaluation of the range monitoring data and rangeland health will be conducted for both allotments. This data will be summarized in a Standards Determination Document that will be provided for public review at a later date.

Term permit renewals are issued in accordance with Title 43 CFR 4130.2(a), “Grazing permits or leases shall be issued to qualified applicants to authorize use on the public lands and other lands under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management that are designated as available for livestock grazing through land use plans.”

Contact: Mindy SealPhone: (775) 289-1944Project status for this project is public scoping.